แสดงความเห็น

*[We analysed the diets of red-backed salamanders, Plethodon cinereus , from 3 upland & three lowland forests to determine whether introduced prey are important contributors to geographical or temporal variation in salamander food resources. We found several introduced species were volumetrically important salamander prey, & were responsible for resource differences between forest types & much of the seasonal fluctuation in food resources in both forest types. We found one introduced ant species, Lasius alienus, among 7 native ant species. Lasius alienus was the fourth most frequent & volumetrically important ant in salamander diets, occurring in 13% of samples with ants & accounting for an average of 10% of ant volume. Lasius alienus was significantly more common than its native congener, L. nearctus , which occurred in only 2% of diet samples with ants.]